We departed Cefalu on Thursday morning, May 12th, continuing west along the coast. We wanted to make a quick stop in Termini Imerese because it is our friend Vinnie Valenza's other ancestral home. I was expecting a quiet little village, but no, this is a bustling little seaport. It is also built on the highest ground around so there are great views from the top which is a park/promenade. Anywhere in North America this would be a prime resort spot for the views alone. But in Sicily it's just one more ho hum, heart stopping, breath taking vista. We tried to check out the cathedral too but it was closed.  _8506453 _8506501 _8506522

We headed on west and had already  decided, while still in the States, that we would bypass Palermo on this trip. We just ran out of days. And besides, there's a consolation prize. Right outside the city is the cathedral of Monreale. It is probably the most beautiful cathedral on the island. I can't say that with certainty because I haven't seen the one in Palermo but it is stunning. Built by the Normans, again borrowing from the Byzantines, it is all mosaics throughout.  _8506553-Pano _8506576 And while exploring the church Jeanne Marie made a fabulous discovery. Never will you guess who's heart is buried here. St. Louis! Yes that St. Louis! Our St. Louis! King Louis IX of France! I did know he had died on crusade in North Africa and I guess they stopped in Sicily on they way home and were talked into giving up his heart. There were great  squabbles in those days over the remains of saints.

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We would like to go back here and spend a little more time in this great church. We had committed to meeting our B&B hostess in Trapani so we moved on. Next time.

After checking into our quarters in Trapani we had the rest of the afternoon and evening so we decided to check out the old salt works. The west of Sicily between Trapani and Marsala was until a few years ago a great sea salt producing area. The shallow water, high salinity of the Mediterranean, strong winds, and hot Sicilian sun made it the ideal spot to recover salt from the sea. This industry is many hundreds of years old but has now shrunk down to providing sea salt for gourmet cooking. The windmills were the means of moving the brine from one evaporating pool to another. Good photo op. As we headed down though the first thing we saw were the windsurfers. Many dozens of them. We then worked our way to one of the few windmills that has been preserved. There was a nice outdoor cafe right next to it so opted to wait for sunset there.

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We noticed as we waited people kept coming in and by sunset the place was full. Apparently quite the spot for finishing up the day.

This was a big day. Besides driving from Cefalu we checked out three places. No bicycle races or cruise ships to run interference. We were starting to get the hang of traveling in Sicily. Click the image below the windmill for a slide show with more pictures.

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